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👋 A day in the life of... Want to know what it's like working at Wavemaker, or learn a bit more about the world of media? Niamh Robinson, Planning Executive and part of our 2023 Thrive cohort, gives us a sneak peak into the life of a Media Planner 👀

🎄 Day 4 of #12DaysofMeetTheWakemasTeamet meet Richard Neighbour, our Head of Creative Services & Campaign Management We asked him about his bucket list, and his dream destination is none other than the iconic Route 66. Join the conversation! Share what's at the top of your bucket list in the comments below! ✈️ #MeetTheTeam

Soooo, the new John Lewis Christmas ad has landed. Let's forget the whole adam&eveDDB vs Saatchi & Saatchi / Dougal vs Megaforce debate, or whether or not a Venus Fly Trap makes for a good Xmas present for a moment. I find myself distracted by the email I received from johnlewis this morning (being a long standing customer). The email invited me 'watch our new Christmas ad before everyone else', along with a screenshot with a 'Play' button icon within the email. Here's the issue though, click on that screenshot (with the Play icon, remember) within the email, and you get not a link to the film, but you're directed to a page on the JL website, inviting you to download their app, to then watch it on your phone. I immediately lost interest in going through those steps to watch what should be the most anticipated commercial of the year. Fortunately for me, I get plenty of industry emails that also had direct links to the film, so was able to watch it without having to download or log in to an app. I can't imagine the pressure, blood, sweat and tears that everyone at S&S has been thorough to deliver the Xmas film for this year, but equally I can't imagine why a client would insist that its own loyal customers (already signed up for emails remember) have to download an app to watch their brand new Christmas ad. That's crazy. So, whatever you think of the ad, let me save you the trouble of having to go through those needless extra steps. And John Lewis, if you don't get as many views as you'd hoped today, perhaps you should consider the hoops you're asking people to jump through to watch your shiny new film.

We're in Adweek! Hawke Media's latest triumph, acquiring Lone Fire Creative, was featured in Adweek’s AgencySpy rundown of big agency news updates from around the industry. Check out the link in the first comment below to read the article!

The latest John Lewis Christmas ad is quietly bold but also soft, showing a different kind of courage. It's more than a tradition for viewers; it's a creative space for marketers. The tagline, "Grow Your Traditions," hits home. It says, "Be brave, live your traditions in your own way." Traditions should grow with us, not the other way around. The standout moment? At 1 minute and 42 seconds, the "different" Christmas tree surprises us all. What seems odd at first becomes something amazing when treated with love. This year's ad is extra special. It's a passing of the torch to a new agency, Saatchi & Saatchi, after a 13-year partnership that started in 2009. Even with the change, the storytelling keeps its magic with a fresh perspective—strong stories, catchy music, and a touching ending. And here's the brave part: the ad shows a single-parent home with a brave 9-year-old as the main character. It's different, and that's great. It challenges norms, showing that 15% of UK households are like this. Recognizing that this bold move is a result of the concour, it's evident they've steered John Lewis towards positive change in their strongest castle. To navigate and champion such a transformative shift is, in itself, an act of courage. Big congratulations! johnlewis #change #christmasads #courage #diversity #storytelling #advertising #tradition https://lnkd.in/dPJpKqEe

Are TV adverts as antiquated as the department store? It struck me this morning… Why is there so little conversation about the John Lewis Christmas Advert this year? Usually my feed is awash by now with posts debating this years festive John Lewis ad. The annual staple diet of analysis and debate on which year was better. Then I remembered that John Lewis called a repitch in February this year. After 14 years they replaced Adam & Eve with Saatchi with Adam & Eve gloriously and publicly declining to repitch. Arguably the new advert hasn’t had the same impact, the chemistry has been lost. But I don’t want to criticise the new agency, especially considering the immense pressure they must have had to face. But for me it does raise a few questions. Behind the scenes John Lewis’s business model is publicly creaking. Their infamous partnership bonuses are not being paid and consumers shopping behaviour is moving digital and the department store model has become antiquated. Therefore what’s interesting is that despite 14 years of non-stop hits with the UKs most celebrated adverts, literally owning the UKs versions of the Super Bowl season hasn’t been enough to address declining sales and changing consumer behaviour. Is it finally time to say that TV ads are totally ineffective as a sales driver? Sure, brand love and other metrics will have shot through the roof. And in the board room they must have been jumping for joy. But the love for the brand clearly didn’t correlate with an uplift in annual revenues. Maybe they failed to measure the metrics that mattered! I would argue that it’s time for brands to put more emphasis on the customer experience (CX) across digital, social and real world interactions. For legacy brands to compete with new fangled start-ups, brands need to understand how consumers want to interact their business. If they dont want to get off their sofa and visit your store, then perhaps reinvent the business model rather than win the Christmas advert season. Although I’m sure those awards are going to still look great sat in the dusty boardroom.

I won't forget how I felt watching this ad for the first time. The baby crying in the background, the pain, the wincing, the 2:57AM wakeups. I'm not a mom (tho I aspire to be one!), but this feels like it's probably a pretty accurate representation of early motherhood. I'm an easy crier, so this was definitely a Kleenex clutcher for me. What I love as much as the execution is how it was released. The ad was slotted to run during the Oscars, but was banned. Frida recut the ad with a note about why it was banned and released it online. It racked up 60,000 views over 2 days with money-can't-buy media coverage. You could easily imagine this is exactly the sort of thing that gets shared from mom to mom, in FB groups, and in the group chat. What really gets me though are the beautiful comments from men AND women prove that Frida is on the money when it comes to representing new moms, and the experience of being a mom. - "This commercial brought me to tears as it brought back memories. My wife had an unexpected c-section as our son was born 6 weeks early. Helping her through the first few months of recovery was the most vulnerable and strength developing time of our marriage." - "The only thing wrong with this is that I'm 38 years old and just now finding out that this is what it's like after a woman has a baby. Great Ad and I'm glad you're finally getting the exposure it deserves." - "Ordinary white male here and I don’t see anything wrong with this at all. Tender, honest and tastefully done. Keep at it, guys. The old world will stop clutching its pearls sooner than later x." Truth is powerful. Frida nailed a human truth and a product truth in their ad. The Oscars banning the ad proved the cultural truth for them, reinforcing their positioning as the brand that gets parents. Brands don't exist in a vacuum. Bathe in culture and find your place in it. Frida used this masterfully, to great effect: they've captured 70% share of their category since launching in 2014. I wrote about Frida last week in my newsletter. If you want more 📖 on brands connecting creative to the bottom line, this is the place I shamelessly plug my newsletter (🔗 in comments).

Is there really no such thing as bad publicity? 📸 Using controversy to boost his circus’s visibility, P.T. Barnum certainly thought so. Stirring up a media frenzy with one of the world’s first PR stunts, Barnum once swapped out oxen for an elephant to plough his six-acre field in Connecticut, USA. Newspapers reported glowing accounts of the stunt which in turn successfully advertised the circus. But in today’s world, does this strategy hold up? 🎪 Our latest blog explores the upsides and downsides of controversial press. Read the full blog here 👉 https://bit.ly/4dPafS4 #PR #Marketing #CrisisPR #CrisisManagement #BrandStrategy

Tune into the latest episode of #FiresideFriday with our Board Member, Gonzalo Del Fa, to learn more about who he is, his background and experience in the advertising industry, and his take on the meaning of the word, "multicultural." #MulticulturalMarketing #Diverse #Advertising